Walking the Path of Light
by polyhymnictal
Summary: BOO! LISTEN UP, ALL OF YOU MISCREANT READERS! Well, I'm not sure if anyone ever says this in my story, but you’re able to find out, aren’t you? Heheh. This is a fan fiction about Albus Dumbledore's school days...funny, sad, romantic, and all that jazz.
1. First

1856 was an eventful year. Queen Victoria introduced the Victoria Cross. That February was the only month in recorded history that had no full moon. In the United States of America, the Great Train Wreck of 1856 changed railroad history forever. The Anglo-Persian War was declared that November.

And September 1 was Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore's first day of school.

His auburn hair shone in the bright morning sunlight, the red tint shining through like a bloody sunrise. Clear blue eyes shone not only because of the sun but from great excitement. He was wearing new clothes, which rarely happened: a crisp white cotton shirt, breeches, and fitted boots. It was proving to be a hot day, so his morning coat was packed away in his father's old trunk—now his—that was nearly his size.

Albus—nicknamed Allie by his siblings, though his parents always called him by his true first name—was grasping his father's hand tightly, nervous despite his overwhelming happiness. He looked up the long way into his lanky father's face. Abner Dumbledore was a pale man with mousy brown hair. He was dressed very formally, although he did not seem rich by the quality of his clothes. One would think that he was the type of man people would not take a second look at, but his eyes—his eyes were as bright, clairvoyantly blue as his son's, and since he had few other redeeming features—his nose was quite large—they stood out even more than his son's.

Luca Dumbledore stood on her son's other side, but her arms were rather full. She was balancing a little girl in layers of petticoats under an old-looking lacy white dress who could not have been more than five years old on her hip and was holding the hand of a boy of about seven years old on her other side. Luca was an attractive woman. Her hair was deep red, braided, and wound into a bun at the nape of her neck. A few soft curls were scattered across her low forehead, admitting to the world that she had been in a frenzy to get her family to the train station in one piece. Her eyes were grey-blue—not nearly as impressive as her husband's—but her face was pretty and her skin still smooth; not a wrinkle yet, even at her age, which was nearly forty.

Albus's younger brother Aberforth was a peculiar-looking lad. His crudely cut hair (he had taken shears to it just a few days ago) was an almost painful shade of red, his eyes were as solid blue as the sky that morning, and his skin was even paler than his father's—but his features still bore a strong resemblance to Albus. His older brother, however, had a softer, less queer, and all around nicer look to him.

Vivienne was the baby of the family. Her hair was mousy brown, like her father, but her skin was as smooth as her mother's and she had the promise to be just as appealing. Her eyes were her father's, though. She had a hopeful look in her eyes that nearly broke Albus's heart whenever he looked at her. He could never figure why.

"Father, how will we get to the train? How will we get there without the Muggles seeing us?" Albus asked interestedly. This was only the second year that students were taking a train to school. It was a very exciting occurrence for the entire wizarding community, but especially for the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, because they were able to experience the ride. And, of course, their parents were completely content with not having to take their children all the way to Hogwarts on their own.

"Well, Albus, we'll be going right through there," Abner replied calmly, pointing out a solid brick wall just opposite them. Albus's eyes widened.

"Through a _wall_?" he said just a little too loudly. A group of nearby Muggles stopped to stare at him for a moment, then seemed to shake it off and smile at the cute but obviously mistaken eleven-year-old before continuing on their way. Abner relaxed as they left.

"It's all right; wizards and witches can walk through as if there is no wall there."

"Whoa," Albus said, his eyes wide. He was unable to say anything else, but he kept thinking that someday he would be able to cause such amazing things as a-wall-that-was-not-really-there-but-looked-so. Now he was even more excited for school to start.

"We should hurry up, though, or we'll miss the train. Are you all right alone for a while, Luce?"

Luca nodded in assent, tightening her hold on Aberforth's hand. "Let me say goodbye to my son first, though," she smiled. Abner quickly took Aberforth's hand and allowed Albus to go and be enwrapped by his mother's free arm. (Aberforth was never allowed out of arm's length when they were in public. He had a tendency to do strange and sometimes disturbing things.)

"Have a good time at school, love," Luca said.

"Bye-bye, Allie," Vivienne said a bit sadly. Albus smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

"Don't miss me too much. I'll write to you every day and see you on Christmas!" he reassured her. She giggled, happier. Then Albus patted Aberforth on the head (he always did this, a bit afraid of any more physical contact than that with his eccentric brother) and soon found his hand back in his father's. Abner walked him towards the brick wall rather quickly, but Albus found the time to look back and wave at his family before his heart jumped, still expecting to collide painfully with the wall and squeezing his eyes shut—

And they were through.


	2. Express

_Disclaimer: Which I forgot on the first chapter. I don't own Harry Potter or the rest of the J.K. Rowling created and just thank her for doing so. : ) Wow, what a lopsided smile... Anywho, I did create Allie's family (other than Aberforth) and many of his friends, so...they belong to me. evil cackle_

Albus gazed around in wonder at the bustling world around him. Towering men and women were hastily doing final checks of their children and their children's baggage. Most were dressed very nicely in Muggle clothes, but he noticed at least one family that was dressed in drab wizard robes; their children all had dirty faces, and the only one who seemed at all old enough for Hogwarts was a scrawny blonde girl in a sad-looking, faded green frock.

He suddenly felt a rap on his head from above and looked up at his father, startled. "Don't stare," Abner told him harshly. Albus nodded, intimidated by his father's tone. Whenever he spoke like that, Albus and his siblings always had to do what he said. They were afraid to think of what might happen if they did not. Abner was normally mild-mannered, but when he became passionate about something, his voice rose in volume until he was practically shouting.

After glancing over at the trunk that Abner was carrying in his far hand—he was stronger than he looked—Albus went back to looking at his surroundings. He marveled at the age of the sevenths years walking confidently by him, some smiling encouragingly. He smiled tentatively back. _I'll be that age some day_. Allie shivered. It just reminded him of how fast life went. Someday not so long in the future, he would die, and that would be the end of it. It was rather unsettling and depressing.

Sometimes he wondered if it was normal for eleven-year-old boys to think of such things.

He felt his father pull him more quickly through the crowd of swishing cloaks and skirts, so much faster now that he was beginning to get nervous. He heard the whistle of a train close by and looked up to see where it was coming from.

His mouth dropped open.

A shiny, new, red locomotive with the words "Hogwarts Express" stamped in gold across the front was in front of him on brand new steel tracks. Steam was billowing from it as it gave another whistle, urging the children into its waiting cars. Students of all ages were leaning out the open windows of the train to say goodbye to their families; the older ones looked either bored or excited and the younger ones mostly looked nervous, but the fact that they were brimming with excitement shone through anyhow.

"Ooh, Father, can I get aboard? Now? Can I?"

"May I," Abner corrected with a small smile. He was not a cheerful sort of man, but he was affectionate and loved his family. "And yes, just one moment while I find where to put your trunk."

"Oh, sir."

Albus turned with his father. A slightly plump man in scarlet robes and the words "Hogwarts Express" embroidered in gold thread over his heart stood near the closest door of the train.

"Your son can bring that on with him. There are racks to store the students' belongings inside the compartments."

"Oh, do you need help with your trunk?"

Father and son had to turn yet again, this time to face a pair of older students who were maybe fifteen or sixteen years old. The speaker was a relatively tall, thin girl with her black hair falling in ringlets to her shoulders—a common fashion for young ladies her age—and a contrastingly outdated fringe of hair over her forehead that would have made her look younger than her years had the boy next to her not brought out the maturity in her face. His hair was blonde and pulled back into a short ponytail; something about him was completely wild, pulling into play his even currently color-changing hazel eyes and the loose strands of hair falling about his face. The young man's shirt looked a bit awkward on him, as if it were slipping off his slim shoulders. He grinned at Albus, who, inexplicably, immediately liked him.

"We'll gladly aid you with that," he said, his voice slightly rough but kind. Then he bent down with his hands on his knees, closer to Allie's face, and told him, "The name's Leon Potter. How 'bout you?"

"Albus Dumbledore," Allie replied, trying to sound confident in himself.

Leon's mouth quirked a little at that. "Nice name." Then he took Albus's hand up and shook it. "Pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Mr. Dumbledore."

Then Albus found himself face-to-face with the pretty raven-haired girl. "Hello. My name is Caley McBramm," she smiled with an Irish accent. "I am a prefect this year, so if you need anything, just come to me. Now, let's hurry up, or the train will leave without us!" she laughed.

_She might be a bit brisk, but she's nice_, Albus thought as he watched Leon take his trunk from his father one-handedly. Then he father turned to him.

"Albus," he said. Allie looked up at him and realized he was waiting for an embrace. He minded his father's wishes and hugged him tightly for what suddenly occurred to him as the last time for months. "Study hard," his father told him sternly. "I expect good marks from you." His expression then softened. "Do enjoy it though. Heaven knows I did not allow myself enough time to do so." Then he patted Albus's head affectionately. "Go on, now."

Allie smiled and nodded, hurrying off after Leon and Caley; the latter was waiting for him at the door of the train car. The Hogwarts Express was already billowing steam and blowing its whistle, so Caley quickly pulled Albus up into the car just as the train began to move. But even after she had closed the door with a snap, Albus stood at its window, picking out his tall father easily from the mass of waving parents and watching him with a sudden ache in his heart until he was out of sight.


	3. Down

_Disclaimer: Not. Mine. Whee...isn't it great that Ms. Rowling left her fans so much to hypothesize about?_

_How many people ACTUALLY read the disclaimer? Just want a rough estimate here..._

"There," Leon said as he shoved Albus's trunk into the luggage rack. Only a few compartments had been empty, so Allie chose the very last one on the train. He didn't feel as lost there, since were not jumbles of students milling about.

"Are you sure you will be all right alone?" Caley asked, her brow furrowed. "I feel guilty just leaving you here."

"It's fine," Albus replied softly. "I am not easily lonely."

"All right," the girl said slowly, but she still looked perturbed.

"Caley, he will be fine," Leon said with a small roll of his eyes. "He's not five years old." He gave Allie a little wink.

"Fine, you imbecile." Caley took hold of Leon's wrist and drew him towards the door. Then she turned back to Allie and smiled. "Good luck, Albus."

"Thank you." He watched them leave, Leon giving him a wave and another wink as he left. The compartment door slid closed.

Albus sighed, hopping up onto the seat, and proceeded to gaze out the window. He quite liked the quiet. Sometimes he just liked to be alone to think, and after the excitement of the morning he wanted to be able to relax, undisturbed. Still, he felt a tinge lonesome. This was his first time truly alone, without his family or friends, and regardless of what he had told Caley, after ten or fifteen minutes he did want company.

He had just gotten to his feet when suddenly the door banged open and in ran the dirty young girl he had seen on the platform. Tears streaked down her cheeks and for a moment she did not seem to realize he was there. Then she gasped and turned to run out again before he caught her wrist—her extremely thin wrist which he could easily wrap even his small hand around.

She stopped abruptly.

For nearly half a minute they simply stood there, frozen. The door's _snap_ with closing awakened them both.

The girl tore her wrist from Allie's grip and turned to face him with wide eyes. "What're ye doin'?" she demanded, trying to sound brave, as she sniffed back her tears.

"Why are you crying?" he responded, more concerned about her appearance than her tone.

"No reason," she said childishly, crossing her arms and sitting herself down on the floor.

"Why don't you sit on the seat?"

She looked startled at his remark. As if disbelieving he was real, she slowly stood and eased herself warily onto the seat behind her. Once she was sitting, Albus settled himself opposite her.

"Now will you tell me the truth?"

The girl, suddenly humbled, stared into her lap. "No one wants me to sit with 'em. They all made me leave. No one wants me."

Allie wanted to cry, seeing the state these other students had put the girl in. How could people be so cruel? "I want you," he said promptly, boldly. She jerked her head up to stare at him with shining eyes and he gave her a smile. Tentatively, she smiled back.

"What is your name?"

"Eva," she replied, now as sweet as can be. "Evangeline. You?"

"Albus Dumbledore," he said. "You can call me Allie if you'd like. That's what my brother and sister call me."

"A'right."

Just as the words left her mouth, a knock on the door cause them to swiftly turn their heads. Then they looked back at one another and Albus shrugged before going to open the door. A boy about their age—but with several inches on both of them—strolled inside, hands in pockets, without a word. His dark golden hair was combed neatly, his clothes and jacket much nicer than Allie's, and he had a confident but slightly ludicrous expression on his face.

"Hello," he said then, amiably, to Allie and Eva, who were staring at him as if they had never seen anything like him (he did not seem to notice). "I noticed the little missy over there running past my friend and my compartment window and wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Are you all right?" he asked Eva kindly. She nodded, taken aback by the boy's eccentricity. He was actually quite handsome.

The boy had turned to Albus and was asking him a question. Allie realized this too late and was forced to say, "What?"

"Who are you?" was the question.

"Oh. I'm Albus Dumbledore. Eva just came in here very upset, so..."

"Can my friend and I join you in here? I'm Johnny, by the way," he said quickly, cutting Albus off.

"Er—all right." Allie was not sure what to think of Johnny. He watched him leave, weighing his rudeness against his quirkiness and his magnetism. All he could come up with was that he was a very interesting person.

"Why're ye letting 'im sit 'ere?" Eva's voice demanded from behind him. He turned to her, pondering his answer for a moment, then shrugged.

"Why not?"

"I don't like 'im," she replied bluntly, huffing as she settled back into her seat. Allie sighed inwardly. _This is going to be a very long train ride._


End file.
